I Could Have Gone Anywhere, But I Stayed In New England

I could have gone to college anywhere, and I choose to stay in New England.

I almost went to South Carolina, I could have gone to Florida. I could have packed up and gone to California and live somewhere sunny, somewhere where snow days were unthinkable.

I could have gone anywhere, and I stayed in New England.

And now there are eighteen inches of snow outside, some people in the state still don't have power, and I cannot remember what spring is like.

Please, let me explain why I'm still dealing with this.

I love New England, and I probably won't live anywhere else. I love the Red Sox and the Patriots and the Bruins and the Celtics. I like my radio stations, and I like my news anchors, and I like my meteorologists. I like my restaurants just where they are, and I like my life just how it is in New England. I like everything how I like it, and I like it here.

I used to think about packing everything up and moving to California, where people are famous and they don't have a permanent chip on their shoulder, where cars stop for pedestrians, and you don't get three feet of snow every March.

That's not going to happen.

People in New England, specifically around Boston, are different. They go out even when there's a Nor'easter because they need a coffee and Dunks didn't close. They drive like idiots to avoid potholes and they drive like assholes and god knows they don't care. They survive snow storms, and they have high test scores and they grow up angry. They have road rage. They go to the Cape every summer, and they run the marathon, and they do everything else that normal people wouldn't do.

I stayed in New England because of the people, and I probably won't ever leave.

To The Girl Who Isn't Graduating On Time, It Won't Feel Any Less Amazing When You Do

I promise, you will get there eventually, and you will walk across that graduation stage with the biggest smile on your face.

You may have a different journey than the people you grew up with, and that is OKAY. You may have some twists and turns along the way, a few too many major changes, a life change, you may have taken most of a semester off to try to figure your life out, and you're doing the best you can.

Your family and your friends don't think less of you or your accomplishments, they are proud of your determination to get your degree.

They are proud of the woman you are becoming. They don't think of you as a failure or as someone any less awesome than you are. You're getting your degree, you're making moves towards your dreams and the life that you have always wanted, so please stop beating yourself up while you see people graduating college on time and getting a job or buying a car.

Your time will come, you just keep doing what you need to do in order to get on that graduation stage.

Your path is set out for you, and you will get there with time but also with patience. The place you're at right now is where you are supposed to be. You are going to thrive and you are going to be the best version of you when you graduate and start looking for a company that you will be proud to work for. Don't look on social media and feel less than, because at least you're still working towards your degree that you are finally passionate about. You will be prepared. You will be ready once the time comes and you cross the stage, move away, and start your journey in whatever field you're going into.

Goodbye School, Hello Real World

I've been in school, year after year, since kindergarten. Maybe even pre-school!

Now, I'm about to graduate with my bachelors in communication and I couldn't be more proud of myself. I'll say it. I often sugarcoat it or suppress it but d*mn it. I'm going to applaud myself. It was hard work. It took a lot of motivation, determination, (caffeine), and willpower to get to where I am today. I worked my ass off.

That being said, I can't help but think... What is life without due dates? What is life like without scrambling to turn in an assignment that's due at 11:59 PM? What is life like with actual sleep? Sleep? I don't know her.

Like I keep telling my boyfriend and my parents, I don't have it all figured out. At least not right now. But I will, and I'm in no rush to land my dream job right now. If anything, I want to take a year to myself. I want to travel. I want to sleep in if I d*mn well please! I want to read as many books as I want. I want to write till my fingers fall off (OK, maybe not that).

You get the jist.

I'm free. I can do and be whatever I want. And you know what? That's terrifying.

I'm lost. I've followed this structure for so long. Now what?

I don't have all the answers yet. But for now, at least right at this very moment, I'm so thankful to have been able to receive such an amazing education. And to be able to say I'm graduating with my bachelors in communication at 21 is an accomplishment in itself.